About us
Small farms. Big taste.
At Franco Manca, when we say good food takes time, we don’t mean between our ovens and your plate. It’s everything before that. From our doors first opening in 2008 to fresh harvests plucked. It’s good to know where your food comes from. But we can tell you from who and why, too. Because to be the sourdough pizza pioneers you have to be traditional in practice, and radical in application. So eat your crusts and count to ten — this is pizza as it should be.
Our pizzerias have lots of space for walk-ins, so just turn up and our lovely teams will seat you as soon as possible. We also take bookings in most of our locations - click here to secure your slice.
Find Napoli in your neighbourhood
Here, flavour comes as naturally as we roll our ‘r’s.
At Franco Manca we leave cliché at the door. We’re dedicated to delivering an effortless, authentic and honest Neapolitan experience — from our close-to-the-land suppliers to the traditional methods that get their produce on your plate. It’s a radically simple ideology: that good food made with high-quality ingredients can speak for itself. So shhhh. Let the cornicione do the rest.
It started with Giuseppe
And the standard never dropped. The quality of our people is as important to us as the quality of our ingredients.
Our Franco family is filled with close-knit, passionate people who love what they do. And how it tastes. Join our team.
A truer value.
There’s a reason we squeeze our own lemons, rest our sourdough for 24 hours, do long-distance with the Frasi family in Verona. It’s because we believe in the Franco way — a set of values that promotes a deep pride in not just what we do, but how we do it. It’s why we work only with suppliers that know the land like we know the taste, invite everyone to the table, invest in our people. We’re for values that deliver a better experience, for everyone involved.
No corners cut. Just crusts.
Every bite is made fresh in our kitchens daily, with ingredients as authentic as our Neapolitan roots. We believe in traditions (and breaking them where appropriate). Gluten free and vegan options available, naturally.
Giuseppe Mascoli, Founder
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It all comes back to Brixton Market, where in 2008 a guy called Franco asked his good friend Giuseppe Mascoli if he wanted to take over the pizzeria he founded in 1986.
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Giuseppe and his friend Bridget Hugo (an artisan baker) took it over and called it Franco Manca — Italian for “Franco is missing”.
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Giuseppe and Bridget built a specialty oven and developed their own slow-rising sourdough — created from an 18th century starter procured near Giuseppe’s hometown of Naples. They honed in on a simple menu, quality ingredients and classic Neapolitan tradition. And people noticed.
Neapolitan-inspired cuisine remains to this day.
Shortly after, the queue for Brixton Market’s pizzeria crossed corners all the way to Chiswick. So they opened a second right there. And then a third. And these days, lots of neighbourhoods are home to a local Franco Manca where our dedication to small supplier local ingredients, daily freshly made dough, and Neapolitan-inspired cuisine remains to this day. Franco might have been missing in 2008, but now he’s never been easier to find.
Donations
Share a slice
We’re calling out to our community to help us get pizza to those who need it most. Submit your nomination, and we’ll send (a little more than) a slice of goodness their way.
